Hondas, Nissans, Mazdas and Subarus all already drive themselves here in Japan. Government just finalising legal requirements and insurance requirements. Hydrogen is also going to be big here. All buses for 2020 Olympics will be hydrogen powered hybrids. Also they are utilising so much of the patches of grass next to railroads and putting solar panels in. Passing the other day there were kms of panels.

Hydrogen will lose the post-petrol war in the same way steam (and ironically electric) lost the war the first time around ~ 100 years ago

The biggest issue with hydrogen is it has a low energy density. It doesn't liquify under pressure, so to store a lot of it you need to hold it at a massive pressure. Higher the pressure the more steel you need in the tank, which means more weight, wiping out the gain from holding the extra fuel.

There's a few clever research concepts that could help. Bond hydrogen temporarily into a solid or absorb it into a nanoscale lattice. Either could do the job of the science works.

Then you get into production. Hydrogen currently is a byproduct of oil refining. Not the green fuel you'd be hoping for. To turn water into hydrogen at an industrial scale will require a lot of electricity. There are solar cells that create hydrogen from water rather than producing electricity, but they are a ways off being scaled up.

Hydrogen could theoretically replace petrol, but it's got a lot of catching up to do.

What if you got Hydrogen, right, and put it under immense pressure, and made it 'fuse' or something, and then with the energy generated, heat up some silicon thingies and convert that into energy?

Or maybe get cars to learn how to eat photosynthesising energy generating self-growing things?

Hondas, Nissans, Mazdas and Subarus all already drive themselves here in Japan. Government just finalising legal requirements and insurance requirements. Hydrogen is also going to be big here. All buses for 2020 Olympics will be hydrogen powered hybrids. Also they are utilising so much of the patches of grass next to railroads and putting solar panels in. Passing the other day there were kms of panels.

Hydrogen will lose the post-petrol war in the same way steam (and ironically electric) lost the war the first time around ~ 100 years ago

The biggest issue with hydrogen is it has a low energy density. It doesn't liquify under pressure, so to store a lot of it you need to hold it at a massive pressure. Higher the pressure the more steel you need in the tank, which means more weight, wiping out the gain from holding the extra fuel.

There's a few clever research concepts that could help. Bond hydrogen temporarily into a solid or absorb it into a nanoscale lattice. Either could do the job of the science works.

Then you get into production. Hydrogen currently is a byproduct of oil refining. Not the green fuel you'd be hoping for. To turn water into hydrogen at an industrial scale will require a lot of electricity. There are solar cells that create hydrogen from water rather than producing electricity, but they are a ways off being scaled up.

Hydrogen could theoretically replace petrol, but it's got a lot of catching up to do.

Your info is a bit out of date Benny. It can be made on site. So imagine every petrol station producing it's own fuel from solar or wind power. Also saves on tankers moving the stuff around.

Hydrogen just isn't 'sexy' enough and doesn't have a spokesperson like Musk promoting it.

A refuelling station for hydrogen-powered cars claimed to be the greenest in the country opens.

First 'zero-emissions' hydrogen filling station opens

17 September 2015

From the section Sheffield & South Yorkshire

A zero-emissions refuelling station for hydrogen-powered cars - claimed to be the first of its kind in the country - has opened. ITM Power created the site at the Advanced Manufacturing Park near the M1 in Rotherham. It uses electricity generated by a wind turbine to split water into its constituent parts: hydrogen and oxygen. A hydrogen car could now fill up with enough fuel for it to reach London from South Yorkshire, the company said.Rebecca Markillie, of Sheffield based ITM, said: "It's the perfect solution. It's a clean fuel utilising wind power, we start with water and end with water".

A hydrogen-powered car only emits water vapour as it runs. The oxygen produced at the site is released into the atmosphere and the hydrogen is stored before being used to refuel fuel cell vehicles. As fossil fuels are not used in the production process, the station is the first carbon-neutral with zero emissions, the company said. Refuelling fuel cell vehicles takes a few minutes and a full tank gives a range of 250-300 miles.

Ms Markillie said the site was a small start but the company "can scale up the technology".The company also is planning to open two more refuelling stations in London. Currently there are only around 20 hydrogen-powered cars on the UK roads but new models are being launched by major manufacturers. The Rotherham station generates enough hydrogen to refuel around 18 cars a day, the company said. ITM Power employs about 70 people in South Yorkshire.

Obviously the ideal, in electric car terms, is if someone invents a generator that keeps the battery charged, like the alternator does now, but obviously not powerfully enough to run the car.

But then, there's no flow-on industry like service stations so you can see that one copping the cold shoulder from vested interests. In the long term, it could sort out problems in the Middle East though since we'd not be so beholden to them for the black stuff.

Obviously the ideal, in electric car terms, is if someone invents a generator that keeps the battery charged, like the alternator does now, but obviously not powerfully enough to run the car.

But then, there's no flow-on industry like service stations so you can see that one copping the cold shoulder from vested interests. In the long term, it could sort out problems in the Middle East though since we'd not be so beholden to them for the black stuff.

Would imagine the service industries are largely under threat from what's happening in electric cars now.

They're screwing us now by hiding the fact it's on our doorstep already so that people aren't ready for it, thereby squeezing the last few drops out of the dirty industries before they pack up and leave everyone scratching their heads or worse, a market crash. Our car makers are gone now though, or will be by this year with the exception of Toyota and a few truck manufacturers. Toyota will be trying to keep up with the foreign producers with the new tech or they will be cactus too. Long story short, as soon Australians realise that EV and home battery is better AND cheaper the game is up with oil and coal. This guy reckons it's about three years away. I get that part of his spiel is that no one sees it coming but it's pretty ambitious. Maybe the forces out there that have their fingers in the pies of the 'good old' industries have blinded me though.

Obviously the ideal, in electric car terms, is if someone invents a generator that keeps the battery charged, like the alternator does now, but obviously not powerfully enough to run the car.

That's basically how a hybrid car works - ie. the Prius.

Or the Porsche 918, my preferred hybrid

Where's the excitement over the new Chevy Bolt? All electric with a range of nearly 400km, fast charge and all that stuff and available now (except for RHD markets) 2 years before the Tesla 3 even makes it to market and with better range and lower price. Just need to convince GM to make it in RHD.

Obviously the ideal, in electric car terms, is if someone invents a generator that keeps the battery charged, like the alternator does now, but obviously not powerfully enough to run the car.

But then, there's no flow-on industry like service stations so you can see that one copping the cold shoulder from vested interests. In the long term, it could sort out problems in the Middle East though since we'd not be so beholden to them for the black stuff.

Would imagine the service industries are largely under threat from what's happening in electric cars now.

You'd expect that service stations would have to adapt, much like the poor buggers who built horse buggies, wagon wheels et al connected with horse-drawn transport had to adapt. History is full of companies that adapted, like Nintendo who progressed from making playing cards, and companies, towns etc that didn't adapt. I assume service stations will include recharging stations.

You'd hope it would be wise for oil companies to involve themselves in the electric car industry, but the cynic in me says they'd suppress it (and probably already have). And when I say probably, I mean with 99.99% probability.

Obviously the ideal, in electric car terms, is if someone invents a generator that keeps the battery charged, like the alternator does now, but obviously not powerfully enough to run the car.

But then, there's no flow-on industry like service stations so you can see that one copping the cold shoulder from vested interests. In the long term, it could sort out problems in the Middle East though since we'd not be so beholden to them for the black stuff.

Would imagine the service industries are largely under threat from what's happening in electric cars now.

You'd expect that service stations would have to adapt, much like the poor buggers who built horse buggies, wagon wheels et al connected with horse-drawn transport had to adapt. History is full of companies that adapted, like Nintendo who progressed from making playing cards, and companies, towns etc that didn't adapt. I assume service stations will include recharging stations.

You'd hope it would be wise for oil companies to involve themselves in the electric car industry, but the cynic in me says they'd suppress it (and probably already have). And when I say probably, I mean with 99.99% probability.

There will be charging stations (and already are some) but I agree it won't be the same companies that currently own petrol stations. I doubt there will be anywhere near as many though as people will want to charge from home as often as possible. Tesla are also apparently set to go with solar charging from the car surface too which is supposed to extend the range significantly. You'd imagine you could park your car in the sun and charge it that way too. This is going to make charging so easy and cheap it would be difficult to make much of an industry of it. Then there's mechanics and maintenance industries. As the video said, the average car is about to go from over 2000 moving parts to around 18. I guess you'll need your wheels aligned, your tires changed and maybe a new battery at some point (or maybe you're better off getting a new model by then).